A Tyrant To A King

by ShuTodoroki

Chapter 10: Growing Doubts

"Even if you're silent, I know you're probably still bent on retaking the Crystal Empire, aren't you?" Discord muttered, his brow furrowed in a disapproving frown. "The princesses have already shown you some trust by letting you live in the castle suite; I wouldn't make them regret it."

Sombra hesitated before he replied, almost as if Discord's words were getting to him. He knew better, however, as he decided that he'd humor Discord as best as he could, at least until he was set free. "Everything that you say is based on fear of Celestia and Luna. Is that really why you decided to accept friendship?"

"Initially, it was. When I was freed from the stone prison that was a statue, I knew that I didn't really have a choice in the matter. I, of course, didn't want to be turned back into stone by the Elements, so I humored Fluttershy in her attempts to reform me, while causing a bit of chaos along the way." Discord recalled with a chuckle, remembering when he made Fluttershy's cottage spin in the air.

"I didn't value her friendship at all, by the way. I saw it as a means to an end, and once I had her wrapped around my finger I'd be able to do as I pleased. Once she put her hoof down when I refused to make things normal again, though…I realized that maybe I valued her friendship more than I thought. After all, I didn't have any friends back when I ruled Equestria in eternal disharmony. I didn't know what I missed until I didn't have it anymore."

Discord noticed that Sombra's stern gaze seemed to soften for a brief moment as he explained his road to redemption, almost as if he was considering it, before he caught himself and reverted to a more unfriendly stare. If he wasn't imagining things, at least that was some sort of progress…

"And then you told me that you had teamed up with Tirek after that, before regretting it when he betrayed you. Was it purely because of how he betrayed you, or was it because you realized the error of abandoning your friends?" Sombra inquired, this question actually surprising him as it came out of his mouth. It was almost as if it was…sincere.

Discord raised a lion's paw to his chin as he thought about Sombra's question. "Huh, that's a good one. Both, honestly. I mistook his treachery for friendship, and losing my magic was the price I paid. After seeing what I had done to my friends as a result…I realized what true friendship was. I never wanted to do that again."

"So you don't feel like you've been limited at all by accepting what these ponies call the 'magic of friendship?' You still call yourself the Lord of Chaos even though you can't rule Equestria as you wish?" Sombra asked with a raised eyebrow, not thinking that could be possible. Submitting to Celestia and Luna's will just made you their servants, and he wasn't willing to do that.

"Not at all!" Discord replied confidently, expecting that kind of question from Sombra. "After all, I'm still the only being that can make chocolate rain fall from the sky, or materialize flying pigs out of nowhere. And they tolerate it whenever I do something chaotic; it's in my nature, after all. It just has to not affect other ponies' lives too detrimentally. I mean, Celestia invited me to the Grand Galloping Gala once to liven it up!"

“…She invited you to the Gala?” Sombra was vaguely familiar with it, though he had never been in Canterlot until now during his lifetime. All he knew was that it was a golden ticket only event, and although Discord was reformed, his common sense told him that he wouldn’t be the first choice to invite for a formal event.

Discord pouted at Sombra’s incredulous expression, though he was glad that the former tyrant was at least showing more emotion than disinterest or brooding. “What, you don’t think Celestia would invite me? Yes, it was a disaster, but she was in good spirits afterwards since apparently the Gala is terribly boring.”

"I had no idea that Celestia was so…free spirited." Sombra replied, finding it out of character that Celestia would allow someone so chaotic to attend a formal ball. Then again, it had been over a thousand years, so he could have missed some things…

"Yes, well, I've found that she's mellowed out in her later years. Don't tell her I said that though." Discord said with a chuckle, afraid that Celestia would think that he was calling her old.

Sombra rolled his eyes, not finding Discord that funny at all. Unbeknownst to him, his opinion was shared by many. He was silent for a while as he thought about his past, finding it peculiar that he had humored Discord in conversation for so long.

"This is probably the most conversation I've had with somepony since before I took over the Crystal Empire, at least in an informal context." He stated matter-of-factly, chalking his behavior up to having nothing else better to do, if he wasn't ruling his rightful empire.

Discord couldn't believe it, his eyes wide as he looked at Sombra. "Really? You mean you've never had a conversation with somepony while you were ruling the Crystal Empire? No time for idle conversation when you've got royal duties, I guess."

"Running an empire is more complicated than just sitting on a throne. Yes, I had my crystal slaves to execute my orders, but there were a lot of things to handle since things soon turned hostile after I had taken over the Crystal Empire. Most of my efforts were focused on defense against Celestia and Luna." Sombra explained, his expression one of contempt since he figured Discord knew more about ruling if he had supposedly ruled Equestria in a state of disharmony before.

"Yes, yes, well I'm glad that I've reintroduced you into the world of social interaction. It's quite lonely to live the solitary lifestyle, intent on doing everything by yourself. I would know." Discord muttered, deciding not to comment about how Sombra was treating him with thinly veiled contempt.

"I would think it's easier to not have to deal with other opinions getting in the way." Sombra retorted, pushing back against what Discord was saying without being rude. After all, he was trying to escape, and he needed to be on the draconequus' good side in order to do that.

Discord nodded in agreement, something that Sombra wasn't expecting. "You're right."

"Well then, why are you so intent on making me think that friendship is such a great thing?" Sombra inquired. After all, it made no sense if Discord agreed that it was a pain to work in a team.

"It's difficult when you have to care about other people's opinions, but it's well worth fighting for. To have someone that you know will be there for you and provide companionship; any kind of social isolation would drive anypony crazy. After all, it didn't feel good when you were ostracized and cast out by the other Crystal Ponies, right?" Discord decided to test his luck, since Sombra had been talkative.

Sombra opened his mouth as if to say something in protest, before he decided otherwise since he couldn't come up with anything. What Discord said was true, and he couldn't lie about that. "Of course not! But that was more than a thousand years ago. I've been doing well for myself since then."

"I was also banished in a way for a thousand years and thought that I was fine too, just saying." Discord reminded Sombra, who just gave him an unimpressed expression in response, which he took as his cue that he was pushing too hard. Well, slow and steady was the best approach with somepony as stubborn as Sombra, right?

"If you'll excuse me, I think I'll settle into my new quarters. I need some time to get used to them, after all." Sombra told Discord, abruptly changing to subject so he could have some alone time. As enlightening as the conversation was, he had quickly grown tired of it; there was only so much of the Lord of Chaos that he was willing to tolerate at a time.

Strangely enough, Discord honored his request, something Sombra didn't anticipate either, since the draconequus had given him the impression that he wasn't good at picking up on other ponies' wishes. "Of course. At least you have a proper bed to sleep in, hm?" The draconequus remarked before he disappeared in a flash of chaos magic, leaving Sombra disorientated for a moment.

I'll have to eventually get used to that, won't I? He thought to himself, as he examined his surroundings more closely. There was anything he could ever need, especially in the attached bathroom with an actual shower which he planned on using at once, since he hadn't been able to have one ever since he was arrested in the Frozen North.

He experimentally pressed a front hoof into the bed that he was to sleep on, finding it annoying that it was only a twin instead of the lavish king he had in his old bedroom in the Crystal Empire's castle, but he found it relatively soft. Anything would be better than the metal floor he had become so acquainted with, anyway.

Having enough of prowling around his castle suite, he decided to head to the shower to clean up and look presentable again, even if he was only seeing Discord at the moment. Besides, it gave him time to collect his thoughts, mull over what Discord had said.

Really, he shouldn't have second thoughts since he was always confident in his own plans, but it was as if his mind acted on its own accord. It caused him increasing frustration as he took off his crown, armor, and cape, leaving him bare with only his dark gray fur to cover him. He turned the knob in the shower using his magic, brooding in his thoughts as he waited for the water to heat up.

Only a week ago he had no qualms about retaking the Crystal Empire, but now he was having increasingly frequent doubts about it. Of course it had roots in how he was treated in the orphanage, yes, but it was so far removed from that at this point that it was just about reclaiming his power and enjoying every second of it. Right?

Or did it really circle back to how his offers of friendship were rejected back then, and how it had never been resolved? If he wasn't lying to himself, it did. But being relegated to whatever he was now didn't feel good either, not at all. He liked being in control; he liked having power.

As he stepped into the shower and worked to clean himself up his thoughts still bothered him, incessant in their pestering. Without it, who even was he? He had made a name for himself as the ruler of the Crystal Empire, and if he didn't have that, he was just Sombra. What would he even do if he managed to convince Celestia and Luna to set him free?

I suppose those are questions for Discord, the next time he visits. He mused, deciding to rest his thoughts on that as he became content at feeling a lot cleaner and more like a king as the hot water from the shower washed away the dirt that had caked up in his coat during the time he was locked in the dungeons of Canterlot.

As he tried to clear his head in his castle suite, he only knew one thing. Those plans to make Celestia and Luna regret their decision to set him free? They were becoming less and less concrete the more he thought about them, and he wasn't sure what to think.

Comments

[Bronycommander]

Nice work as always. I figured canterlot would be unknown to sombra at first, never having been directly at it

[ShuTodoroki]

11517306
Yep! He's only been in the Crystal Empire his entire life and his time of rule was quite short, thus he's never been anywhere else.

[Bronycommander]

11517311
Mhm. The mentioning of fluttershy is a bit ironic for me here.

[Bronycommander]

11517311
Pardon, old habit

[Misty Shadow]

This is a great Sombra reformation story! I initially wasn't too sure how I'd feel about a story where Discord is his reformer after the series finale kind of soured my opinion on Discord, but honestly, this story is actually making me remember what I liked so much about Discord in the first place. The way he talks with Sombra is so much fun and I'm liking the very natural progression with Sombra changing as the walls in his mind are slowly coming down. Definitely faving this and sticking with it all the way through!

[ShuTodoroki]

11518988
Thank you so much for the comment! Yeah, I kind of hated the twist in the series finale which I believe ruined Discord's character, but maybe with his successful reformation of Sombra he can redeem himself a bit when that time comes. And yeah, I know MLP has a habit of reforming villains in one episode (I'm looking at you, Starlight and Sunset) so I wanted a more natural progression since Sombra isn't going to accept friendship that easily. He has his ego to protect, after all! XD I'm trying to write this fic as if the writers of Season 9 included a Sombra reformation arc and didn't just kill him off.